Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Rouge 2021
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The Land
Most top Hermitage is now bottled by single lieu-dit. Chave goes the other way and always has: the family holds that the hill is best told as one wine, assembled from its parts. Hermitage is a single south-facing hill above Tain-l'Hermitage on the left bank of the Rhône, and its soils change sharply over a few hundred meters. Les Bessards, on the western end, is granite and gives the wine its frame and tannin. Le Méal, on terraces of stony alluvial deposits, adds warmth and dark fruit. L'Hermite, up by the chapel at the top of the hill, brings lift and perfume, and Péléat contributes silky red fruit. The Hermitage Rouge is where they meet.
The Wine
Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Rouge 2021 is 100 percent Syrah, partially destemmed and fermented parcel by parcel in open wood vats and concrete. Each lot ages separately in casks of varying size for up to 18 months, with little new wood, before the blend is made; the 2021 was bottled unfiltered in September 2023. The vintage was hard: frost on 7 to 9 April, the first to hit northern Rhône vines in four decades, then a wet early summer with heavy mildew pressure and a harvest rushed between September storms. Chave cropped at 37 hl/ha, and the wine finished at 13.5 percent alcohol. Expect tension rather than weight: red and black cherry, raspberry, orange rind, crushed violet, dried herbs, cedar and pencil shavings, with ripe, fine tannin and a fresh, clear finish. Think 2014 more than 2019.
The People
The Chave family has grown wine around Mauves, across the river in Saint-Joseph, since 1481, which puts it among the oldest wine families in France. Gérard Chave built the domaine's modern reputation, and his son Jean-Louis came home in 1992 after studying at UC Davis and took over gradually. Most of his changes happened outside the cellar: more people on the hill, more money spent on the steepest parcels, and a long project replanting abandoned Saint-Joseph terraces that took 14 years. Chave is consistently among the last growers on Hermitage to pick. The cellar philosophy is patient and conservative: keep every parcel separate, taste each one, and decide the blend only at the end. Jean-Louis runs the domaine today with his wife, Erin Cannon-Chave.
Food Pairing
Roast leg of lamb studded with garlic, anchovy and rosemary, cooked pink, where the fine tannin and herbal side of the wine meet the rosemary and the fat. Venison loin with crushed juniper and a reduced red wine jus, to pick up the dark cherry and cedar. Beef cheeks braised slowly in Syrah with carrots and thyme over soft polenta; the acidity of this cooler vintage keeps the dish from going heavy. Or roast chicken with morels and cream, which shows how much room the medium body of 2021 gives you. Decant two hours ahead if you open one now. This vintage drinks earlier than most Chave and will still keep twenty years: one bottle for tonight, one for a birthday a decade out.
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The Rhône Valley is a diverse and historic wine region, divided into two distinct areas. The Northern Rhône is the birthplace of Syrah, with steep, terraced vineyards that produce some of the world's most revered wines, such as those from Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie. The Southern Rhône is much more expansive, offering a wider range of styles, but typically based around Grenache-based blends, with wines from Châteauneuf-du-Pape known for their complexity and power. While the region is celebrated for its reds, it also produces incredible textured whites, and as a whole the region displays the spectrum of French wine and the incredible differences that can come from small geographic changes.
Rhone Valley
Syrah is a dark-skinned grape of French origin, specifically from the Northern Rhône Valley, where it produces some of the world's most powerful and complex wines. Known as Shiraz in Australia, Syrah is capable of displaying a wide range of aromas and flavors. Cool climate Syrahs tend to express floral notes like violets, along with savory elements like olives, while those grown in warmer climates like Australia are more likely to show black pepper and dark fruit notes such as plum. The grape's versatility allows it to adapt to various climates and soil types, but it maintains its unique characteristics no matter where it is planted.
